Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and here we are at the beginning of another Christmas season together.

This is Christmas season number five for Christmas past, and while it's true that some of you are year-round listeners, or got an early start on the season with the Burr Month's bonus episodes,

I'm well aware that this family gathering of ours is at its largest and most festive

during what's commonly considered the official Christmas season between Thanksgiving and Christmas

Day. Whether this is your first season with us, or you've been here since the very beginning,

and no matter what time of year you find your Christmas spirit, I'm happy to have you here now

as we embark on a Christmas season unlike any other in recent history.

Indeed, we are living through a major moment in human history in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of which have touched

Christmas in many powerful ways. The effects on the economy may have changed how you think

of Christmas shopping and gift giving this year. Social distancing measures may have changed

your plans to travel, attend events, or visit physical stores. Many annual traditional events have been cancelled or scaled down.

Even the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade earlier today felt very different from the ones we've known all along.

And surely there are those among us who have been personally and directly affected by the virus in one way or another,

or indirectly through the effects of extended

isolation or just that frustrated feeling of wanting everything to get back to normal.

My thoughts are with you, all of you, and I really do mean that.

Christmas is that one time of year when we feel most strongly the desire to return to the

comforts of the familiar,

the joy of tradition, and the warmth of friends and family. Whatever your plans are throughout

the season, I hope they are guided first and foremost by a concern for your own health and safety

and that of the people you love and your community. And at least I can assure you that one thing that will feel normal and familiar this year

is another season of the stories behind your favorite Christmas traditions.

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